9mm or .40 S&W chime in

[LockNLoad]

What do you prefer? I've heard all the "knock down" rational, but since most all will never actually shoot someone what are the other reason for a choice? Thx

[DirtyD]

Wow..... just wow.... great first post...no, really..... great.

[Texas1911]

Either one will kill someone.

/thread.

[Burt Gummer]

I would say hit the "search" function on this and a half-dozen other forums and you will have a bazillion threads to answer this.
Both calibers will get the job done.

[M. Sage]

Originally Posted by Texas1911

Either one will kill someone.

/thread.

I'll expand on that and say that the wound ballistics for everything from 9mm through .45 ACP and into 10mm are going to be identical enough not to matter. Throw .38 special +p and .357 magnum in there for good measure. You won't notice much difference in effectiveness.

And it really should be "either one can kill someone". Handgun wounds have a mortality rate of only around 30% IIRC. Or that might be total gunshot wounds, I don't remember. Point being, if you get hit by 9mm or .40, the odds of you coming out of it alive are actually pretty good.

Personally, I prefer 9mm because it's more common and less taxing on the gun.

Now for some physics. There is no such thing as "knock-down power". A bullet fired from a handgun or a typical rifle is not going to knock someone down. It might knock them off balance, but it's not going to send them off their feet. If it packed that much punch, it would knock the shooter off his feet when he fired the thing.

[TimberWolf7.62]

I think the .40 is something that looked great in theory but left something to be desired in the real world. Remember that the .40 originally started as the 10mm, which was deemed too powerful to control for the average FBI agent (the FBI being the proponent of the 10mm in the late '80's). The answer was to wimpify the 10mm down to the .40.

However, it still has IMHO a fairly sharp recoil, more than a 9mm or a .45, while doing nothing to the target (human or otherwise) than those other two cartridges won't do as well or better. I'll stick with my 1911s and the Browning Hi-power I inherited.

[navyguy]

Just for fun:

[Big country]

I like your cartoon there NG. D drew that didn't he? He must have eaten all the crayons but the black one. LOL!
I carry a .40. I wouldn't feel under gunned with a 9mm or over gunned .45. Now that we have the caliber debate settled, Glocks, XD's, 1911's, or Revolver?

[BurkGlocker]

Originally Posted by navyguy

Just for fun:

Thats one of my fave gun cartoons... Love it... The only reason that I switched from .45 to .40 was availability of ammo and components. I really dont think I lost anything in the trade. And I would certainly trust my life to a 9mm, but not with an FMJ, only if it was loaded with one of todays modern HP loadings. So pick and choose, do research, read up on the subject, and you find the answer. Or just buy both, and be happy that way!

Brad

[BurkGlocker]

Here's another one. As you can tell, most of the wound tracks are similar as hell, except the 10mm, it goes nuclear!